It's Warm Again!

5 years ago-neat and tidy and boring

 Today I was trying to weed and trim and it was awful.  The bachelor buttons are taking over the world!  I planted three redbuds that were tiny little twigs, and they are big now.  When I planted the small bed in-between the two sidewalks, I put shredded wood chips that were from the compost pile in Fayetteville.  Out of those wood chips, I have three more redbuds.  Why would anyone cut down a redbud in the first place, and secondly, why have the chips in the compost pile?

 My friend gave me two weigelias, and they are now quite large and doing well.  Aren't the flowers wonderful?

 This is a close-up of the bachelor buttons-see how thick they are!  The purple is my favorite color.

He likes the shade when he is helping with the gardening.

And we had snow in May in Arkansas!  It has been cold and wet and miserable.  This is so not like our normal weather.  With all the snow and rain we have had in the last few weeks, our county is no longer under drought!  I will get back to you in August on that one!

I have committed to doing another show in October in Greenwood, AR.  I think it is their first show.
I know the people organizing this one.  So it will be old friends and catching up.

I am spinning the most luscious yarn right now.  It is merino roving that is various colors of deep red with a tinge of black in there.  I am blending it with a tiny amount of deep, deep red alpaca that I got when I was in Taos.  It was such a small amount of fiber that I was waiting until I had the right stuff to blend with it.  It is perfect together, and it will be a great yarn when finished.

I am thinking of dyes I want to do.  I have enough tansy out there right now to do a dyebath.  I just can't do everything I want to do.

So lots of things to do right now.  I am knitting a pretty colorwork hat out of Shetland wool.  I am knitting a pair of plain socks.  I put the shawl aside for right now.  I just found a pattern for a lace scarf that I think would be wonderful in a gradient yarn.  I ordered some pretty lilac and gray gradient yarn from Webs, and that should be the perfect thing. 

My biggest problem right now is I want to be outside when it is warm and the sun is shining.  I need to mow the yard, but I am waiting until tomorrow.  I think we are in for more rain Thursday, so I think mowing tomorrow is better.

I guess there isn't too much news.  I have found that I spin more yarn if I am on Netflix.  So I will get busy with that instead of going back outside.  I get so excited when the sun comes out and it is hard to sit still in the house.

Enjoy the warmth and the sun!  I am.

Happy May Day!

Today is May 1.  In Druidic cultures and other pagan cultures, it is considered beginnings of new life.  I know everyone has seen many silly movies showing the ritualistic mating stuff, but today is significant in other cultures.  When the Romans came along, they added flowers into the mix.  And everything gets very mixed up from this point on.

All I know is today is warm, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the roadrunner has been cooing, and all seems right in the world.

Of course, we are supposed to get a cold front in tomorrow that may bring a freeze.  Sigh!

But today is a marvelous day to just try to balance oneself with the world surrounding.

I did my show in Missouri last weekend.  I met some really marvelous people, and they were fun to be around.  It really wasn't as hard as I expected.  There was cold, drizzly rain all weekend, and the crowd was not as expected.  I think I did well considering it was 48 degrees and raining all day.

I was able to find the location fairly easily.  It was a long drive in the pouring rain on Friday.  At times it would have made sense to just pull over for a while, but when I am driving on the interstate, I don't. 

I didn't get tired until Sunday and Monday.  Yesterday I woke up thinking this is the day I am getting my life back into order.  I mowed and used the trimmer to tidy up the yard.  I think it is beginning to look like a jungle, but I like a blue jungle.  The bachelor buttons have taken over.  I am waiting to see if any of the other seeds I planted will make it or not.  They will have to struggle to overpower those other tall plants.

Surely the chickweed will die soon.  I cannot pull it all out, but surely it will die soon.

I got some pretty black-eyed susans from my friend CF last year.  They did well, and I tried to make sure they survived the drought.  This year they are going to multiply and be happy- I think.  They are making their green leaves right now, and I think I will have a good crop.  If they keep multiplying, I should have enough for dye.  Yeah!

Patty and Noodles are so happy to have their lives back to normal.  Monday Noodles just wanted to sit in my lap.  He is back to his precious self now, but for a while he was a bit needy.  Patty is still following me everywhere, and if I move she moves.  But that is fairly normal for her.  She got a nice haircut while I was away.  So she is set for the hotter weather.

I finished up the black bean yarn and I have it on the blocker drying.  It is a pretty gray color.  I will put a pic up next time.

I guess that catches me up to now.  I got some Paco-Vicuna fiber from my friend GK.  I can't wait to get into that!  There is only one ounce, but it is luscious.  It costs just about the same price for bison.
Both luxuries to have!

I also have been itching to get an indigo vat started.  I will have to wait until the threat of freeze is over.  I don't want to kill it right off. 

So until next time-have a good week.

What a week that was!

While I am frantically putting the finishing touches on items for the show next weekend, I am reminded that none of this is important in the global sense of the word.  After the bombings in Boston and the plant blowup in Texas, the whole scheme of Life is reflected in several things.  My dil's grandfather died, and she was very close to him.  I can hold her close in my heart, but I can't help the others that are hurting so badly.

In the times of reflection, I cannot see that my beautifully crafted items mean a whole lot to the world at large.  It is only my work of love for the fiber and for the finished piece.  I am not a production person, so it is a small contribution to the world of fiber.  I am very fortunate that I live in my studio, and I can sit and watch Netflix and spin away at all hours and times.

I only vend at small shows now.  I prefer to just make a little bit extra to help me pay some things that stretch the budget.  It is not important to anyone but me.  I do put a lot of love for fiber into my spinnings.  I hope that is what draws people to buy my yarn.  I know that is the response when people feel the yarn.  Then it is "oh, this is so soft"  or "oh, this is so nice".  And I like to see the smiles on the faces of the ones who have never touched handspun before.

So, yes, last week was a rough week.  I can only hope that this week will be better.

A Real Spring Day!

I don't have a lot to talk about.  I just wanted to report that today is sunny and warmish.  The grass, or rather the weeds, need mowing.  We had a light frost this week, but that is forgotten on days like today. 

My potatoes are hatching.  The birds are singing.  The trees are making pollen and leafing out.  It's just a glorious day!

I washed socks the other day.  It is a little bit early, but I can live with just one or two pair for the rest of the season.  Those can be put away in May.  I have one of the rugs outside now airing. 

My friend SH came over to show me how she uses her IPad.  I am really frustrated with DropBox right now.  I have my pattern on the computer DB, and according to everything it is supposed to be in my DB on the IPad.  It's not.  I spent 2-3 hours trying different things and gave up.  I just have to carve out more time to try it again.

I just want to go outside to sit and knit.  Sorry this is going to be short.  Have a good Sunday!

It Must Be Spring!

Tonight we are getting a blast of cold from the northwest, and the south winds have been blowing for days.  What happens when the two collide?  You got it.  Possible tornadoes are warned, but hail is our most likely candidate.  SIGH!  It is so lovely to be in tornado alley. 

It has been very warmish, at least pleasant to be out and about.  Tomorrow the high is planned around 50 degrees! That's about a 25 degree difference!  Then mid fifties until Saturday.  Yep-this is definitely Spring.

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon at two.  I guess I will arrive looking like a drowned rat.  It is all good, because it is water of some kind. 

The other day I noticed a sign at a vet clinic that said, "It's Spring.  Do you know where your tom cat is?"  Well, some of the neighborhood kitties decided to check out our yard.  Noodles is ever vigilant for intruders.  He got into a major and hellacious fight with one of them at dusk yesterday.  So..... my solution is to lock the cat door at night.  He spends all night long on the screened porch watching and guarding.  During the day he is allowed to patrol and hunt and act all macho.  I keep an eye on him and watch for intruders.  His gimpy leg must hurt, because he does not bear weight on it.  And there is the limp, of course.

I planted some seeds and I hope to get some nice flowers out of them.  I hope they have time to germinate before the drought sets in.  I did not get any sunflowers last year.  The stalks grew to about 18-24 inches and then dried up.  I planted some indigenous wildflower seeds that hopefully will create flowers that are drought tolerant.  The only difficulty is they are only drought tolerant when established.  Reports on that later.

My riding lawnmower decided to not start this year.  I finally figured out I needed a new battery.  I went to Walmart because theirs is the cheapest 12 volt battery I can find.  Unfortunately I got a smart ass clerk in the automotive department.  It infuriates me no end.  Testosterone is a wonderful hormone when used properly.

I visited my friend OSM on Sunday at her Tahlequah cabin.  She brought all three dogs with her this trip.  What a zoo!  She continues to battle Graves disease and she is still on her weird diet.  I am so grateful that right now I am okay. 

I am still moving along on my inventory and getting things organized for the fiber show.  I think this will be a good show.  I finally got the labels made for my bags, and now the bags are ready.  I have a thank you card stuffed in each one.  They are ready to go.  I am almost done with the bison/silk blend yarn.  It is really pretty.  I am anxious to see if it blooms after washing and blocking.  Today I got another email from the organizers.  They are providing refreshments for the vendors and a lunch.  I think that is a nice touch.  I was going to stick a peanut butter sandwich in my bag, but now that isn't necessary.

I guess that is all to report this week.  Not a lot.  I am only knitting on my shawl, but I wanted something else to do as a change.  I started a Fair Isle hat.  I think it going to be pretty.  I really find stranded work soothing and I love to use charts.  I remember when I first learned I had to write out the pattern, but now I have learned to read the chart and to read my knitting.  I try to explain that last part to others.  It is really the central key to doing stranded work-read your knitting.  And it is all a form of logic.  At least it is to me.

Have a safe week.  Pray for safety in the storms.  No tornadoes, please.

It Is A Time of Changes

I sometimes wonder about how Life catches up with us some times in the Spring.  We had such a delightful warm spell that was then thrown aside for ugly cold weather.  I will not complain about the rain, and with all the rain we are now in a moderate drought according to the map I looked at online.

We are promised warmer weather by Saturday and for a few days.  Then another chill down.  I am hoping that the major freezes are done.  It isn't so awful when it is cool at night and early morning.  As long as there is warm sun to sit in, I am fine with it.

Along with these changes, my forsythias have decided to open a few buds.  The redbud trees are trying to open their pretty pinky purple buds.  The pasture daffodils are finished.  The henbit is still purple in the yards everywhere.  The Bradford pears are all blooming.  It is all very confusing.

With the seasonal confusion, it seems that everyone I talk to is having some kind of change in her life.  It is very odd.  One friend thinks perhaps it is a magnetic shift.  I certainly don't want the poles to shift in my lifetime.  But a lot of people have folks developing cancer and that is sad.  It is certainly a time of changes.

I am now into my "beginning" panic stage.  I actually have two weeks to be prepared.  The three or four days before the show is errands run, hair cuts, etc.  No time to make something.

My friend OS is visiting her cabins in Oklahoma for her Spring visit.  I will call her tomorrow.  I do not have much time to spend with her this trip.  I hope she is understanding of that.  My cousin is making his annual visit a week from this Saturday.  So time to spend with him too.  It is a busy month.

I am done with the knitting for this show.  I think I have enough, if that is in fact real.  How do you have enough?  I am still trying to get the loom warped to make a cotton scarf.  The weaving will not take long.  I will just have to make a time to just do it.  I am spinning bison/silk roving right now that is luscious.  I have a goal set to complete the second bobbin by this weekend.  Then the plying, washing, and blocking.  That will probably be all I will have time to complete.  I will see.

I was just standing at my west window admiring the sunset tonight.  We haven't had many sunsets in the past week.  It was a gorgeous deep pink, salmon, and gold.  Really magnificent.

I ordered a Square to put on the IPad .  I am anxious to try that out.  It will be nice to take credit and debit cards.

Not much else is new.  Patty found a composted veggie pile behind my neighbor's house.  The cat ate the little chipmunk I had been admiring earlier that day.  I thought he and Baby had eaten them all when I first moved in.  I was so happy to see one.  The woodchuck is happily eating greens from the bachelor buttons.  Today he/she ran a squirrel off that was quite amusing while window watching.

I am ready to plant some sunflower seeds and other flower seed.  I have to assure them that there is an end to the frost.  I know that drought will get them if I don't get them planted soon and germinated.  My little Japanese Indigo plants are slowly growing.  I talk to them regularly.  I have a bed prepared for them, but it will be a while before they are ready to transplant.

So no other news.  I am just tired.  I am ready to do something other than think about this show.  I plan on resting for at least one week afterwards.  Then time to plan the next show.  But rest comes first.

The ball park down the street opened for the season tonight.  That means fireworks on Friday nights.  I guess that is surely a sign that seasons are changing.

Enjoy your weekend.  Enjoy the heat and warmth from the sun.  Yes, there are Spring storms planned, but right now I want to enjoy the heat.

This Has Been A FULL Moon!

I have had a very frustrating electronic week.  I will not go into details right this minute.  I think I will take something for the headache and go to bed.  I think a good cozy mystery is what I need more than anything.

I am really, really close to finishing the green scarf.  Yeah!  I have had a little trouble with my aches with the really cold weather we had.  Now that it has warmed and a little bit of sun appeared, I am fine and dandy.  My knitting slowed tremendously, and now I am in catch-up.

I am spinning some bison/silk blend and it is heavenly.  I am still watching my BBC soaps on Netflix, and enjoying them.  Occasionally I turn to Miss Marple to take the edge off reality.

I will catch up with my blog tomorrow.  Just felt I wanted to vent a little bit of my frustration.

It is getting close to my show in April, and I am almost ready for that.  I am nervous about putting my toes in the water again after so many long years ago.  But I am feeling good about this one.

My friends seem to be having so many problems.  Mine seem so small in comparison. 

Oh-Patty found another decomposing vegetable pile behind my neighbor's house.  YUCK!  STINK!  She had to have a bath yesterday.  And I watched her like a hawk for any pancreas problems that she is prone to.  SIGH!

Okay-now I have to go lay down and forget the electronic world-except for my Kindle, of course.